09 november – 08 december
The exhibition aspires to show the ethnic diversity of Izborsk and its unique ethnocultural traditions. The visitors will see the ethnographic artefacts from the fund collection of the Izborsk” reserve museum – traditional folk costumes of Russians and Seto, wonderful samples of weaving, embroidery, lace and household items.
Special accent is laid on rhe silver jewelry of the seto women in combination with the national costume: black sundress, linen shirt, decorated with red and purple ornamental inserts, striking in their beauty and richness. The silver jewelry of the Seto people consists of a large brooch - sylg - and numerous chains with coins from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to a Seto proverb, a Seto woman is first heard and then seen, as silver chains with coins jingle on her as she walks. Silver jewelry has always had a special meaning in the life of the Seto people. They were passed down from generation to generation and accompanied every woman throughout her life.
One of the main exhibits are the unique Seto “God’s” towels, which differ both from Russian icon towels and from the towels of other Baltic peoples. “God’s” towels are richly decorated with multi-colored knitted lace and ornaments, which are dominated by geometric and plant motifs that have sacred meaning. The symbols woven by needlewomen not only decorated things, but also helped in everyday life: the Seto believed that ancient signs brought prosperity and prosperity to the family.
The exhibition also presents paintings by the remarkable Izborsk amateur artist Pavel Dmitrievich Melnikov (1907–1987). On his canvases P.D. Melnikov depicts his native Izborsk - an ancient and beautiful city.
In the ancient land of Pskov there is an amazing place that is not marked on geographical maps - the small Kingdom of Setomaa. There live the Seto - a unique small people of the Russian Federation.
For many hundreds of years, Russians and Seto have lived on the territory of the Pechora region, borrowing elements of culture and life, customs and rituals from each other.
There are two main versions of the origin of Seto. According to one, the Seto are an indigenous Finno-Ugric people, a “splinter” of the ancient “chud” that has survived to this day, which the Slavs encountered when settling the north-west of the East European Plain. According to the other version, the Seto are the descendants of the Estonians, who fled from the territory of modern Estonia to Russian lands in the Middle Ages.
The Seto religion is Orthodoxy, which determined their historical destiny. For centuries the main shrine of the Seto people has been and remains the Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery - the largest center of Orthodox culture in the North-West of Russia. Seto have been praying with the Russians in the same churches for more than 500 years, celebrating Orthodox holidays together.
The state historical, architectural and natural museum-reserve “Izborsk” carefully preserves the culture and traditions of the small Seto people, of whom no more than 250 people currently live in the Pskov region.
An exhibition “Russians and Setos. One land, common history” was organized in Izborsk. There is a Museum-Estate of the Seto people in the village of Sigovo, where excursions and master classes are held, a Children’s Summer Linguistic Camp is organized annually and the International Ethnocultural Festival “Setomaa. Family meetings” is held.